Coach gets honest on if Rafael Nadal’s team feared he may not return after surgery

Coach Carlos Moya admits Rafael Nadal’s team had certain fears and concerns if the 22-time Grand Slam champion would be able to come back to tennis. On June 2nd, Spanish media reported that Nadal decided to surgically address his psoas muscle injury. The following day, Nadal confirmed that he indeed had surgery and revealed he was told the estimated recovery for his surgery was five months – that put an end to the Spaniard’s 2023 season. Before undergoing surgery, Nadal revealed in May his plans to return for one final season in 2024. After the surgery, Nadal’s progression was slow and that’s when the former world No 1 and his team started having certain concerns and doubts.

Moya on if they feared Nadal may not be able to return 

“Yes. When you go through an operation like this… In the end, entering the operating room is the last straw you hold on to, and I say this from experience, to try to come back and retire on the court. Knowing those risks, he tried it because it was the only way he had if he wanted to return. And when we started and have been playing for a month and a half or two, and we see that the progression is very slow… you don’t know if it is slower than expected or not because it is the first time we were in a situation like this. But you do see that you have your doubts, and in the player’s head there are also doubts: will the body respond? Will it be able to withstand the loads? There are many questions that arise. It hasn’t been a bed of roses, far from it. It has been a quite twisty and winding road, with many curves,” Moya told ATP Tour Espanol. On December 1st, Nadal made an announcement on his social media, revealing that his comeback would start at the Brisbane International between December 31 – January 07.